WHITE MOUNTAINS, the portion of the Appalachian mountain system which traverses New Hampshire (U.S.A.), be tween the Androscoggin and Upper Ammonoosuc rivers on the north and the lake country on the south. They cover an area of about 1,3oom., are composed of somewhat homogeneous granite rocks, and represent the remnants after long-continued erosion of a region formerly greatly elevated. The geological formation is an igneous ejection of granite, burst through horizontal strata. The foundation seems to have lifted from the depths and bears upon its shoulders a huge covering of mica slate that often extends a quarter of a mile below the summit. The group is divided into two main portions by Crawford Notch, the valley of the Saco river. To the west of the notch are the Franconia mountains where Mt. Lafayette, the highest peak, stands 5,269 ft. above sea
level. To the east lies the Presidential range, so called because the chief summits are named after the U.S. Presidents. Of this group Mt. Washington is the highest peak, rising 6,293 ft. above the sea. Thirteen other summits have an elevation exceeding 5,000 feet. Some of the best known are Mt. Adams, 5,805 ft.; Mt. Jef ferson, 5,725 ft.; Mt. Clay, 5,554 ft.; Mt. Monroe, 5,390 ft.; and Mt. Madison, 5,380 feet.
See the article NEW HAMPSHIRE; the Guidebook, part i. (Boston, 1907), published by the Appalachian Mountain Club ; and Appalachia, (1876 seq.), a periodical published by the same club.